Strawberry Tart
by HP Slash Luv
Summary: A collection of five stories, featuring the pairing of Ron/Lavender in some way. Some may be happy and some may be sad. Written for the Diving thread at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry forum.
1. They Had Quality

**Title:** They Had Quality  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Pairing(s)/Character(s):** Ron/Lavender  
 **Warnings:** Character Death  
 **Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.  
 **Word Count:** 578  
 **Summary:** Ron keeps his promise.

 **Notes:**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: **Diving - Forward Dive - Write about heartbreak.

 **Pairing the Character:** Ron/Lavender

 **Greek Mythology Category Competition:** Penthus - Write about someone dealing with the death of a loved one.

 **Pokemon Trading Card Collection Challenge:** Mienfoo - Bronze - Write about QUALITY rather than QUANTITY.

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: **Muggle Studies - Task 3 - Write about someone who suffers a traumatic child birth.

* * *

Lavender's body begins shaking, and the Healer yells orders that Ron doesn't understand.

"What's going on? What's wrong with my wife?"

He isn't answered. Instead, he's pushed out of the room as the healer and the medi-witches convene on Lavender's spasming body, and the door is closed in his face, preventing Ron from seeing what exactly is happening.

"Lavender!" Ron shouts, even though it's useless. He doesn't know what's going on, and that scares him more than anything.

Harry and Hermione run up to him. "What's going on?" Hermione asks.

"I...I don't know. She was shaking, and then..." he doesn't finish.

He doesn't need to, though. His best friends huddle around him in a hug, and the rest of the family comes and stands with him.

Arthur puts a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Everything will be okay. You'll see."

Ron wants to believe his dad; he wants to believe that everything will work out, but after living through the war, he knows better than believe in fairytales. A lot of bad things happen to good people, and whatever's happening right now, is bad.

And he soon finds out how right he is to not believe in fairytales. The healer comes out of the room.

"What's going on?" Hermione demands, hands on her hip.

"Tell us what's going on with Lavender," Harry adds. The glare he wears is the same one he gave Voldemort all of those years ago.

The healer explains something in medical jargon that Ron doesn't understand. He holds up a hand, silencing the healer. "Just tell us. Is Lavender going to be okay?"

The healer's eyes hold compassion, and Ron swallows pass a lump, feeling something akin to a lead stone drop to the bottom of his stomach.

"Right now, Mrs. Weasley _is_ stabilized."

"And our daughter?"

The healer nods. "Your daughter, too. Unfortunately, they won't be able to stay stabilized for much longer. And we don't have the facilities to save both of them."

Ron's legs buckle. He would have fallen if Harry and Hermione weren't holding him up. "What are you saying?"

"You can only save one of them, and you need to choose. Quickly."

Ron walks away.

Hermione follows. "Ron?"

Ron closes his eyes. "Lavender told me she had a bad feeling, but I ignored her. I thought she was just nervous about being a mother for the first time. She made me make a promise, though."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, and no matter how much I hate it, I'm going to keep it." Louder, he says, "Healer? Save my daughter."

He hears the footsteps retreat, and he's surrounded by his friends and family, who hold him.

He knows that he will soon have a daughter, but he will no longer have a wife. It's isn't fair. Their time together was so short, but he knows that the time they did spend as husband and wife was quality, and he'll never regret marrying Lavender.

He loves her. He'll _always_ love her.

He promised her, though. If something went wrong, he promised to save their daughter.

And he knows he has his family and friends. They help him as he navigates the perils of being a single father.

Tears fall from his eyes.

When he's given the okay, he'll go in and say goodbye to her, but it isn't really goodbye because she'll always be in his heart and one day, he'll tell their daughter about her amazing mother who loved her so very much.


	2. So Not Romantic

**Title:** So Not Romantic  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Pairing(s)/Character(s):** Ron/Lavender  
 **Warnings:** None  
 **Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.  
 **Word Count:** 202  
 **Summary:** Lavender "accidentally" runs into Ron.

 **Notes:**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: **Diving - Backward Dive - Write about a proposal.

 **Pokemon Trading Card Collection Challenge:** Torchic - Bronze - (plot/action) Giving/receiving a 'warm hug'.

* * *

Lavender waved at a nicely dressed Ron Weasley. "This is a surprise. I didn't expect to see you here," she whispered while giving a flirty wink.

Ron shrugged. "This is one of my favorite bars. I'm actually very surprised to see _you_ here, though."

Lavender bit her bottom lip. She didn't want to admit that she came specifically to see Ron. Ever since she heard about his breakup with Hermione, Lavender entertained dreams of reuniting with her Ronnikins. "This isn't my usual bar, but I wanted to try a new one."

Ron swayed slightly on his feet.

Lavender smirked. "You're a little drunk already, aren't you?"

He nodded, his red bangs swaying with the movement. "You look hot."

Lavender blushed. Ron never had much of a filter for his mouth, but he was even worse while intoxicated. "Thank you."

"I have a proposal for you."

She arched her eyebrows and waited.

"You want to like... maybe date again?"

Lavender threw her arms around Ron's neck for a hug. When she pulled back, she was smiling widely. "That's definitely not the most romantic 'I want you' that I've ever heard, but I'll take it. Yes, Ron, I would _love_ to date you again."


	3. Breaking Free

**Title:** Breaking Free  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Pairing(s)/Character(s):** Ron/Lavender  
 **Warnings:** None  
 **Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.  
 **Word Count:** 290  
 **Summary:** Ron admits that he's unhappy.

 **Notes:**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: **Diving - Inward Dive - Write about breaking free.

 **Pokemon Trading Card Collection Challenge:** Natu - Bronze - (quote) "The early bird catches the worm."

* * *

Lavender shook Ron awake. "Wake up, Sleepyhead."

"I don't wanna," Ron mumbled into his pillow. He buried his face deeper into the pillow and pulled the covers over head. Why would he want to leave such a nice bed for a boring day at the Ministry?

Lavender rolled her eyes. "The early bird catches the worm," she sing-songed.

Ron sighed and sat up finally. His eyes met hers.

Lavender frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I hate working at the Ministry. I hate working under my dad. I never wanted to do it in the first place."

What Lavender thought would be a morning full of her lightly teasing her husband had taken a different turn. "Okay. You were working there before we married. Why?"

Ron stared at the blanket and his fingers played with the fabric. "I wanted to be an Auror like Harry. My grades in Defense were never as good as Harry's though, not even after the D.A. I thought I would fail and following in my dad's footsteps was easier, less scary."

Lavender placed a hand on Ron's chest. "You chose a safe route, but you can't always play it safe. If you had played it safe, you probably would have married Hermione."

Ron grabbed her hand and brought it up to his lips for a kiss. "And that would have been a horrible mistake because then I wouldn't have you."

"Exactly," Lavender agreed. "You have to take chances for the reward of great happiness. And if you stumble a bit because it's hard, then you need to pick yourself right up and keep on trying."

"So, what do I do?"

Lavender pressed a soft kiss to his lips. And against them, she whispered, "You need to break free."


	4. Goodbye

**Title:** Goodbye  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Pairing(s)/Character(s):** Lavender/Ron (unrequited), Ron/Hermione  
 **Warnings:** None  
 **Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.  
 **Word Count:** 249  
 **Summary:** Lavender watches the man she loves get married to someone else.

 **Notes:**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: **Diving - Reverse Dive - Write about a wedding.

 **Pokemon Trading Card Collection Challenge:** Onix - Gold - Write about someone camouflaging themselves.

* * *

Lavender hoped she was camouflaged enough. The last thing she wanted was to be seen at this particular wedding. How pathetic was she? Lavender had dated the groom in sixth year only—and not even the full year—but she simply couldn't let him go.

She knew most people thought it was just a silly school girl infatuation, but it wasn't. What she felt for Ron was real. As real as what Harry felt for Ginny or what Ron felt for...

She closed her eyes.

She didn't want to go there. She didn't want to think about it even, but she knew she had to. She was hiding in plain sight at the wedding of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Soon, he would forever be out of her reach, and Lavender knew there was nothing she could do about it. Lavender might love Ron, but Ron loved Hermione, and nothing that Lavender did would change that.

She had come to the wedding, but it wasn't to torture herself. It was to get closure on a relationship that never stood a chance.

She had come to silently say goodbye to what could-have-been.

It was time for her to move on.

And as Ron and Hermione shared their first kiss as husband and wife, Lavender turned and walked out of the backyard, never recognized by anyone.

It was the beginning of a new life for her, and hopefully, she would find someone to love her as much as Ron loved Hermione.


	5. Comfort

**Title:** Comfort  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Pairing(s)/Character(s):** Lavender/Ron  
 **Warnings:** Mentioned Character Death  
 **Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.  
 **Word Count:** 357  
 **Summary:** Ron gets comfort from his family.

 **Notes:**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: **Diving - Twist Dive - Write about a funeral.

 **Pokemon Trading Card Collection Challenge:** Gloom - Platinum - Write about someone recieving/giving a particularly wet, sloppy kiss.

* * *

Ron allowed the tears to slide down his cheeks as his dad stood in front of everyone and talked about how amazing Molly Weasley was. He sang her virtues as a wife, mother, and friend.

And it was true.

His mother of course made mistakes, but everyone made mistakes. And no matter what she did, her heart had always been in the right place.

Her death...

It was so senseless.

It was five years after the war.

It shouldn't have happened.

It did, though, and now Ron—along with his brothers and sister—was without a mother, and his dad was without a wife. And let's not forget that Ron's own daughter—as well as his nephews and nieces—were without a grandmother.

When the funeral ended, Ron wasn't ready to leave.

Lavender stayed at his side, a hand in his. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"It still feels like a nightmare," Ron mumbled.

"I know. I still wish I had more time with Molly. I'm sure I was winning her over as her daughter-in-law finally."

Ron's lips quirked a tiny bit. "Don't be so hard on yourself. She liked you better than Fleur after all."

Lavender kissed his shoulder. "Can I do anything for you?"

"Stay with me?"

"Always," Lavender promised.

A hand tugged into his black robes, and he looked down at the sad face of Ellie. He let go of Lavender's hand and knelt in front her. "What is it, Baby Girl."

"I miss, Gamma," she cried.

Ron pulled her into a hug. "I know you do. I miss Gamma, too. So much."

She pressed her lips to his cheek in a wet kiss. "Will we ever not miss her?"

Ron pressed his nose to her hair, breathing in her sweet smell. "I think we might always miss her a little bit, but I happen to know that it will get easier with time."

Ellie buried her head into his shoulder, and he lifted her up and held her in front of the grave marker.

The three of them stood there, and Ron was never more grateful that he had his family.


End file.
